Prague to consider support for car sharing

With the number of automobiles in Prague (population 1.26 million) heading
for the one million mark, the city’s authorities are set to consider a
new scheme to support car sharing.

Photo: Kristýna Maková
In 1990 there were 336,000 cars registered in Prague. Today that figure is
almost three times higher. According to a report prepared for City Hall and
quoted by the Czech News Agency, this means the Czech capital has overtaken
even the most car intensive metropolises of Western Europe in terms of per
capita number of automobiles.

With a view to cutting congestion and improving air quality – and as
part of a broader project extending municipal paid parking zones –
Prague’s authorities are now considering a scheme under which the city
would provide financial support to car sharing initiatives. They say one
shared car could replace eight individually owned vehicles.

The plan would target Prague residents that currently drive fewer than
10,000 kilometres a year, including students, people reluctant to take
public transport at night, and families that from time to time need a
second vehicle.

The city report says that experience from other countries suggests that in
order for car sharing to succeed it needs the backing of regional or local
agencies, particularly when it is first introduced. Deputy mayor Jiří
Nouza told the news site Lidovky.cz that Prague is not out to do business
in the car sharing field but rather to support that form of transport.

One key factor in ensuring such schemes take off is providing parking
places in suitable locations easily accessible to residents. The
introduction of cheaper parking fees – and even the creation of
preferential lanes – for shared cars are also measures to be considered.

Another question is how many such cars the Czech capital would need for
the system to have any affect. Germany’s Munich, with a population of 1.4
million, has 800 shared automobiles (which seems too low a number to
genuinely make an impact).

As for how such a scheme would work in practical terms, other cities
employ RFID cards, smartphone apps or text messaging. Such systems are
already in place in Paris, Vienna and a number of places in Germany, with
user numbers reported to be constantly on the rise.

If Prague’s councillors do decide in March to introduce the scheme, it
will not be a complete novelty for the Czech Republic. Private groups have
been running car sharing schemes for some years, though without making much
of an impact. One, autonapul.org, was set up in Brno in 2002 but reported
fewer than 20 members almost a decade later.

Even if the new scheme gets the green light, and companies can be
encouraged to invest in this area, will people be interested? One
environmental activist told the news site iDnes.cz a few years back that
for some Czechs the very concept may carry a whiff of socialism. She said
she was unsure if the “enchantment” of owning one’s own car had worn
off in this country.